Metal nanoparticles have recently gained popularity in many research areas due to their nanosize-related properties. Depending on the size of the metal nanoparticle, their mode of interaction with electromagnetic radiation and the outcome of this interaction vary; in turn the effect exerted on a protein which is conjugated to a nanoparticle varies, because different sized nanoparticles demonstrate different modes of energy transfer with electromagnetic radiation and molecules conjugated to them. Very small cluster with sizes around 1 – 1.2 nm tend to get excited by incident light and emit fluorescence, whereas larger nanoparticles absorb the incoming light very strongly due to their LSPR. In this study we observed the outcomes of the interaction between two types of nanoparticles, namely gold and gold/silver alloyed nanoparticles with the fluorescence emission of two fluorophores, namely eGFP and rPhiYFP; and demonstrated a bioassay where the fluorescence modulation by gold nanoparticles can be used as the sensing strategy. Lastly, we demonstrated the potential of autofluorescent gold nanoparticles as intracellular reporters.

Novel biocompatible nanoprobes for optical imaging of Epidermal Growth Factor receptor (EGFR) were created. 5 and 18 nm gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) and 5 and 45 nm diameter silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) were conjugated to EGF protein via ?-lipoic acid. AgNPs were not previously attached to EGF. TOF-MS confirms EGF-linker formation. ELISA verifies the linked-EGF activity alone and with EGF-NPs. Core-shell silver-gold nanoparticles (AgAuNPs) gave similar results. TEM staining with uranyl acetate exhibits a bright ring, smaller than EGF, around nanoparticles. Dark field microscopy shows localized, intense cytoplasmic scattering, possibly lipid droplets, in cancer cells incubated with or without nanoprobes. Following injection, mice organs were harvested for EGF-NP immune response determination. Sterilization likely inactivated EGF before ICP-MS. Intense surface enhanced Raman scattering (SERS, 632.8 nm) follows MgSO4 induced EGF-AgNPs aggregation. Pelleted EGF-AgNP tagged cancer cells lack SERS indicative intensity contrast. AgAuNPs could provide increased stability, brighter SERS, and reduced silver biocompatibility concerns.

Functionalized nanoparticles provide a wide range of potential applications for Biological Mass Spectrometry (MS). Particularly, we have studied the effects of chromophore activity on the performance of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) capped with substituted azo (-N=N-) dyes for analyte ion production in Laser Desorption Ionization Mass Spectrometry (LDI-MS) conditions. A series of aromatic thiol compounds were used as Self-Assembled Monolayers (SAM) to functionalize the surface of the AuNPs. Results indicate that AuNPs functionalized with molecules having an active azo chromophore provide enhanced analyte ion yields than the nanoparticles capped with the hydrazino analogs or simple substituted aromatic thiols. We have also conducted experiments using the azo SAM molecules on 2, 5, 20, 30, and 50 nm AuNPs exploring the changes of Relative Ion Yield (RIY) with increased AuNP diameters. Our results indicate that the role of the SAM to drive energy deposition decreases as the size of the AuNP increases. It was determined that 5 nm is the optimum size to exploit the benefits of the SAM on the ionization and selectivity of the AuNPs.

Abstract This thesis reports on studies of plasmonic nanoparticles and particularly gold nanostars as signal enhancers and contrast agents for biophotonic applications including visualisation, treatment of living cells and chemical sensing. In this thesis, the optical properties of nanoparticles of different size and morphology and their silica composites were compared. Because they are the most suitable plasmonic nanostructures, gold nanostars were utilised for optical imaging modalities such as confocal microscopy and Doppler optical coherence tomography. The ability of gold nanoparticles to enhance the signal in surface-enhanced vibrational spectroscopy, including Raman and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy was additionally studied. Finally, various gold nanoparticles were applied for cell optoporation to increase the penetration ability of exogeneous substances. In summary, significant advantages of nanostars such as their low-toxicity, high scattering and contrast abilities, in addition to a broad, tunable, plasmon resonance wavelength range, as well as the capability to enhance the signal of analyte molecules in vibrational spectroscopy were demonstrated in this thesis. The results of this study on the effectiveness of nanostars have a broad scope of utility and open a wide perspective for their utilisation in nanobiophotonics and biomedicine. / Tiivistelmä Tämä opinnäytetyö kertoo tutkimuksista, joissa plasmoninanopartikkeleita ja erityisesti kultananotähtiä on käytetty signaalinvahvistimina biofotoniikan sovelluksissa, kuten visualisointi, elävien solujen käsittely ja kemiallinen tunnistus. Tässä työssä verrattiin eri kokoisten ja muotoisten nanopartikkeleiden ja niiden piioksidikomposiittien optisia ominaisuuksia. Sopivimpina plasmoninanorakenteina kultananotähtiä käytettiin optisiin kuvantamismenetelmiin, kuten konfokaalimikroskopiaan ja Doppler-optiseen koherenssitomografiaan. Lisäksi kuvattiin myös kultananopartikkelien kykyä parantaa pinta-aktivoidun värähtelevän spektroskopian signaalia, mukaan lukien Raman- ja Fourier-muunnos-infrapuna-spektroskopia. Lopuksi, eri kultananopartikkeleita käytettiin soluoptoporaatioon eksogeenisten aineiden läpäisevyyden lisäämiseksi. Yhteenvetona, työssä osoitettiin nanotähtien merkittävät edut, kuten matala-myrkyllisyys, suuret sironta- ja kontrastiominaisuudet, laaja plasmoniresonanssin aallonpituusalue ja sen viritettävyys, sekä kyky parantaa analyyttimolekyylien signaalia värähtelyspektroskopiassa. Niinpä tutkimustulokset nanotähtien tehokkuudesta ovat laajasti käyttökelpoisia ja ne avaavat laajan näkökulman niiden hyödyntämiseen nanobiofotoniikassa ja biolääketieteessä.

>Magister Scientiae - MSc / A novel monomer (Phenazine-2,3-diimino(pyrrole-2-yl)–PDP) derived from the condensation reaction between 2,3-diaminophenazine and a pyrrole derivative has been synthesized as a hinge molecule in the design of a zig-zag polymer with actuation possibility. The monomer was polymerized chemically and electrochemically to produce the new polymer material – polymerized Phenazine-2,3-diimino(pyrrole-2-yl) PPDP. Two very crucial properties of a good actuator material, relate specifically to its solubility testing and electrical conductivity. The hinged polymer material was studied intensively in terms of its spectroscopy; Fourier Transform Infrared - FTIR, 1H’NMR, thermal properties (Differential Scanning Calorimetry-DSC and Thermogravimetric Analysis-TGA) as well as voltammetry and conductivity. Conductivity was evaluated using three different approaches including; 4 probe measurements, plotting of I/V curves based on potentiostatic measurements and an electrochemical impedance experiment using a dielectric Solartron interface. Electrochemical kinetics of the polymer prepared as a thin film at glassy carbon electrode (GCE) was also done and it was clear that the thin film conductivity was vastly different from the compressed pellet conductivity (thick film). The zig-zag polymer was then further modified by homogeneous inclusion of gold nanoparticles to improve conductivity and solubility, in the thick film arrangement. Conductivity of the thin film was studied by electrochemical impedance spectroscopy with the relative charge transfer values being determined for unmodified and modified polymer systems. The solubility testing of the material plays an important role as it is required for a wide range of experimental applications. The zig-zag polymer showed great promise for applications; in dye sensitized solar cells and free standing interpenetrating polymer network (IPN), solubility testing and electrical conductivity would need to be improved in order to be used in these applications.

In this study, we used anisotropic gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) dispersed in castor oil and immobilized in hydrogenated castor oil, for the construction of a material to be used in Surface Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy (SERS-active substrate). The AuNPs synthesized were characterized by absorption spectroscopy in the Ultraviolet-visible region (UV-vis), where it was possible to observe a displacement of the absorption band after preparation of the substrate, from 650 to 690 nm, and by Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM), which showed obtaining AuNPs with star shape and average size of 100 nm. To investigate the potential SERS applications, the obtained substrates were tested using the sulfur molecules of 4-aminothiophenol (4-ATP), benzothiophene (BTF), thiophene (TF), cysteamine and cysteine as probe molecules. The SERS spectra were obtained by analyzing the substrate after the immersion, for 24 h, in solutions with different concentrations of probe molecules. Using 4-ATP as a probe molecule it was possible to obtain SERS spectra with a concentration range of 2,88x10-2 to 1x10-10 mol L-1, with BTF and TF it was possible to increase its Raman bands from 1x10-1 to 1x10-6 mol L-1. Cysteamine and cysteine were also used as probe molecules, but with only one concentration, 1x10-1 and 5x10-2 mol L-1, respectively. The results showed that the developed material has interesting sites with SERS activity, allowing us to study its interaction with different probe molecules, so it can be applied to different areas, both in qualitative and quantitative analysis, even for molecules in solutions with very small concentrations. The obtained substrate presented EF of the order of 102 to 103. / Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior / Neste trabalho, foram utilizadas nanopartículas anisotrópicas de ouro (AuNPs), dispersas em óleo de mamona e imobilizadas em óleo de mamona hidrogenado, para a construção de um material para ser utilizado em Espectroscopia Raman Intensificada por Superfície (substrato SERS-ativo). As AuNPs sintetizadas foram caracterizadas por espectroscopia de absorção na região do Ultravioleta-visível, onde foi possível a observação de um deslocamento da banda de absorção após a preparação do substrato, de 650 para 690 nm, e por Microscopia Eletrônica de Transmissão, as quais mostraram a obtenção de AuNPs na forma de estrelas com tamanho médio de 100 nm. Para a investigação de possíveis aplicações na área de SERS, o substrato obtido foi testado utilizando as moléculas sulfuradas: 4-aminotiofenol (4-ATP), benzotiofeno (BTF), tiofeno (TF), cisteamina e cisteína, como moléculas sonda de interesse. Os espectros SERS foram obtidos através da análise dos substratos após a imersão, por 24 h, em soluções com diferentes concentrações das moléculas sonda. Utilizando o 4-ATP como molécula sonda foi possível a obtenção de espectros SERS com uma faixa de concentração de 2,88x10-2 até 1x10-10 mol L-1, com o BTF e TF foi possível a ampliação de suas bandas Raman de 1x10-1 à 1x10-6 mol L-1. Foram utilizadas também cisteamina e cisteína como moléculas sonda, porém com apenas uma concentração, 1x10-1 e 5x10-2 mol L-1, respectivamente. Os resultados mostraram que o material desenvolvido possui sítios com atividade SERS, o que nos permitiu estudar sua interação com diferentes moléculas sonda, assim podendo ser aplicado em diversas áreas, tanto para análise qualitativa quanto quantitativa, mesmo para moléculas em soluções com concentrações muito pequenas. O substrato obtido apresentou EF da ordem de 102 a 103.

L’Organisation Mondiale de la Santé (OMS) a fixé en 1998 la concentration maximale en arsenic dans l’eau de consommation à 10 ppb (μg/L). Dans le monde, plus de 100 millions de personnes sont exposées à des concentrations supérieures à 50 ppb. La toxicité, l’omniprésence et la mobilité de l’arsenic entraînent la nécessité de pouvoir le doser immédiatement sur le terrain. Il existe actuellement deux méthodes de dosage de terrain commercialisées. La première, onéreuse, est basée sur la voltammétrie (> 7000 €). La seconde à environ 2 €/analyse se présente sous le format de bandelette. Elle permet la mesure de teneurs en arsenic avoisinant les 10 ppb, mais nécessite la génération d’arsine (forme la plus toxique), l’utilisation de bromure de mercure et donne jusqu’à 33% de faux positifs. L’entreprise Novassay souhaite développer une nouvelle méthode de dosage de l’arsenic simple, rapide et efficace pouvant être utilisée directement sur le terrain. Ce travail présente dans un premier temps, un nouveau protocole issu d’une optimisation de la méthode dite au bleu de molybdène et de l’utilisation d’une membrane filtrante permettant une lecture colorimétrique sur support solide. Dans un deuxième temps, seront présentés les résultats obtenus sur le développement d’une méthode de dosage inédite de l’arsenic par l’intermédiaire de nanoparticules d’or. Dans cette partie, une molécule imaginée à partir de la structure d'un complexant naturel de l’arsenic sera synthétisée. Les tests de dosage de l’arsenic avec cette molécule seront réalisés sur deux types de nanoparticules d’or, les premières stabilisées au citrate, les secondes stabilisées au xylane. / In 1998, the World Health Organization (WHO) set the maximum concentration of arsenic in drinking water at 10 ppb (μg/L). In the world, more than 100 million people are exposed to concentrations upper than 50 ppb. The toxicity, ubiquity and mobility of arsenic imply the need to be able to dose it immediately on the field. There are currently two commercially available field dosing methods. The first, expensive, is based on voltammetry (> €7000). The second at about €2/analysis is available in the strip format. It allows the measurement of arsenic concentrations close to 10 ppb but requires the generation of arsine (the most toxic form of arsenic), the use of mercury bromide and gives up to 33% false positives. Novassay wants to develop a new simple, fast and efficient arsenic method that can be used directly in the field. Firstly, this work shows a new protocol resulting from an optimization of the molybdenum blue method and the use of a filtering membrane allowing a colorimetric reading on a solid support. In the second part of this work, the results obtained on the development of a novel method of dosing arsenic by the utilisation of gold nanoparticles will be presented. In this part, an imagined molecule from the structure of a natural complexant of arsenic will be synthesized. The arsenic assay with this molecule will be performed on two types of gold nanoparticles, the first stabilized with citrate, the second stabilized with xylan.

The thesis entitled “The Role of Liposomal Hybrids and Gold Nanoparticles in the Efficacious Transport of Nucleic Acids and Small Molecular Drugs for Cancer Nanomedicine” elucidates the preparation of various liposomal formulations of cationic monomeric and gemini lipids where hydrophobic domains were consisted of tocopherol, cholesterol and pseudoglyceryl backbone for the cellular transport of nucleic acids. The thesis continues while elucidating the role of various pH sensitive molecules and gold nanoparticles in liposomes to improve the delivery efficacy levels. This thesis also elucidates the role of gold nanoparticles stabilized with natural pH sensitive molecules for efficacious drug delivery applications. Additionally, the role of such pH sensitive gold nanoparticles in association with liposomes for the co-delivery of drug and gene has been discussed. The work has been divided into six chapters. Chapter 1A: Dimeric Lipids Derived from α-Tocopherol as Efficient Gene Transfection Agents. Mechanistic Insights into Lipoplex Internalization and Therapeutic Induction of Apoptotic Activity In this chapter, we present cationic dimeric (gemini) lipids for significant plasmid DNA (pDNA) delivery to different cell lines without any marked toxicity in the presence of serum. The six gemini lipids possess α-tocopherol as their hydrophobic backbone and differ from each other in terms of their spacer chain lengths. Each of these gemini lipids mixed with a helper lipid 1, 2-dioleoyl phosphatidyl ethanolamine (DOPE), was capable of forming stable aqueous suspensions. These co-liposomal systems were examined for their potential to transfect pEGFP-C3 plasmid DNA in to nine cell lines of different origins. The transfection efficacies noticed in terms of EGFP expression levels using flow cytometry were well corroborated using independent fluorescence microscopy studies. Significant EGFP expression levels were reported using the gemini co-liposomes which counted significantly better than one well known commercial formulation lipofectamine 2000 (L2K). Transfection efficacies were also analyzed in terms of the degree of intracellular delivery of labeled plasmid DNA (pDNA) using confocal microscopy which revealed an efficient internalization in the presence of serum. The cell viability assays performed using optimized formulations demonstrated no significant toxicity towards any of the cell lines used in the study. We also had a look at the lipoplex internalization pathway to profile the uptake characteristics. A caveolae/lipid raft route was attributed to their excellent gene transfection capabilities. The study was further advanced by using a therapeutic p53-EGFP-C3 plasmid and the apoptotic activity was observed using FACS and growth inhibition assay. Figure 1. The co-liposomes of tocopheryl gemini lipids and DOPE for efficient delivery of p53-EGFP-C3 plasmid DNA that induces significant apoptotic response. Chapter 1B: Efficacious Gene Silencing in Serum and Significant Apoptotic Activity Induction by Survivin Downregulation Mediated by Cationic Gemini Tocopheryl Lipids Non-viral gene delivery offers cationic liposomes as promising instruments for the delivery of double-stranded RNA (ds RNA) molecules for successful sequence-specific gene silencing (RNA interference). The efficient delivery of siRNA (small interfering RNA) to cells while avoiding the unexpected side effects is an important prerequisite for the exploitation of the power of this excellent tool. We discuss in this chapter about six tocopherol based cationic gemini lipids, which induce substantial gene knockdown without any obvious cytotoxicity. All the efficient co-liposomal formulations derived from each of these geminis and a helper lipid, dioleoyl phosphatidyl ethanolamine (DOPE) were well characterized using physical methods such as atomic force microscopy (AFM) and dynamic light scattering (DLS). Zeta potential measurements were conducted to estimate the surface charge of these formulations. Flow cytometric analysis showed that the optimized co-liposomal formulations could transfect anti-GFP siRNA efficiently in three different GFP expressing cell lines, viz. HEK 293T, HeLa and Caco-2 significantly better than a potent commercial standard Lipofectamine 2000 (L2K) both in the absence and presence of serum (FBS). Notably, the knockdown activity of co-liposomes of gemini lipids was not affected even in the presence of serum (10% and 50% FBS) while it dropped down for L2K significantly. Observations under a fluorescence microscope, RT-PCR and western blot analysis substantiated the flow cytometry results. The efficient cellular entry of labeled siRNA in GFP expressing cells as evidenced from confocal microscopy put forward these gemini lipids among the potent lipidic carriers for siRNA. The efficient transfection capabilities were also profiled in a more relevant fashion while performing siRNA transfections against survivin (an anti-apoptotic protein) which induced substantial apoptosis. Furthermore, the survivin downregulation improved the therapeutic efficacy levels of an anticancer drug, doxorubicin significantly. In short, the new tocopherol based gemini lipids appear to be highly promising for achieving siRNA mediated gene knockdown in various cell lines. Figure 2. The co-liposomes of tocopheryl gemini lipids and DOPE for efficient delivery of siRNA against survivin that induces significant apoptotic response. Chapter 2: Efficacious in Vitro EGFP Expression and Silencing in Serum by Cationic Pseudoglyceryl Gemini Lipids To elicit the desirable efficacy levels in cationic liposome mediated nucleic acid therapeutics has been part of extensive scientific efforts. This chapter describes three cationic gemini lipids and application of their co-liposomes with DOPE as potent pDNA (plasmid DNA) and siRNA (small interfering RNA) cytofectins for remarkably advanced efficacy levels in numerous cell lines in the presence of serum. The hydrophobic structural lineament of cationic gemini lipids is made up of pseudoglyceryl backbone linked to the hydrocarbon chains via oligo-oxyethylene units. The stable aqueous co-liposomal suspensions of gemini lipids showed an efficient binding to pDNA or siRNA and their significant intracellular delivery in various cell lines. The transfection capabilities of different co-liposomal formulations were profiled based on EGFP expression (pEGFP-C3 pDNA transfection) and EGFP knockdown (anti-GFP siRNA transfections) in EGFP expressing cell lines. The cellular EGFP expression levels and intracellular delivery of labeled nucleic acids were thoroughly studied using flow cytometry (FACS), fluorescence and confocal microscopy. The MTT based cell viability assay revealed no loss in cell viabilities for all of the transfection optimized lipoplexes of siRNA or pDNA. The transfection profile of gemini co-liposomes was noted to be significantly much better than a commercial lipofection reagent, Lipofectamine 2000 used for pDNA and siRNA applications in each of the cell lines studied. The co-liposomes and their transfection optimized lipoplexes were physiochemically characterized extensively by means of zeta potential, dynamic light scattering (DLS) and atomic force microscopy (AFM). In brief, these new gemini co-liposomal formulations seem to offer a great opportunity for successful nucleic acid (DNA and siRNA) delivery in a practical scenario. Figure 3. Efficacious EGFP expression (pDNA transfection) and EGFP silencing (anti GFP siRNA transfection) mediated by co-liposomes of pseudoglyceryl gemini lipids and DOPE. Chapter 3: Efficient Elicitation of Liposomal Nucleic acid delivery through the Eminence of Gold Nanoparticles Stabilized with pH Responsive Short Tripeptide Derived from Tyrosine Kinase NGF Receptors The prerequisite in the area of gene therapy today is to serve transfection efficient formulations nullifying the enduring key issues. To this end, we discuss in this chapter, the role of hybrid liposomal formulations derived from structurally distinct cationic lipids, a neutral lipid (DOPE) and pH responsive short tripeptide (KFG, Lys-Phe-Gly) capped gold nanoparticles (PAuNPs). The hybrid liposomes are presented to be efficient enough to transfect pDNA leading to remarkably high gene expression levels in various cell lines of different origins in the presence of serum (FBS). Hybrid liposomes could deliver pDNA more effectively than the native liposomes and commercial standard lipofectamine 2000 (L2K) across the entire range of N/P ratios studied under the influence of intracellular pH response and gold nanoparticles prominence. The gene transfection capabilities are profiled based on transfections performed using two different plasmids (pGL3, luciferase activity and p-EGFP-C3, green fluorescent protein expression). pDNA cellular internalization and subsequent gene expression levels are studied using flow cytometry, fluorescence microscopy and confocal microscopic studies. The extensive physiochemical characterization of hybrid liposomal formulation and their complexes with pDNA in comparison with respective native liposomes was performed using AFM, TEM, Zeta, DLS, gel retardation assay, U.V. and fluorescence emission measurements. The hybrid liposomes are shown to possess significantly higher fusion activity at lowered pH of intracellular compartments. These hybrid liposomes are fairly biocompatible across the concentration range used in transfection experiments. Precisely, introduction of these pH responsive tripeptide capped gold nanoparticles in to liposomal formulations straightforwardly must be more advantageous for a practical application in biomedical scenario to achieve therapeutic levels. Figure 4. The hybrid of liposomes and tri-peptide capped gold nanoparticles for significantly improved gene expression levels. Chapter 4: RNA Aptamer Decorated pH Sensitive Liposomes for Active Transport of Nucleic Acids in Specific Cancer Cells This chapter describes the target specific transport of pH sensitive liposomes loaded with a RNA aptamer for promising nucleic acid therapeutics. The pH sensitive liposomes are constructed from a cationic cholesteryl gemini lipid (CGL), neutral helper lipid (DOPE) and gemini analog of a pH sensitive lipid, palmitoyl homocysteine (GPHC). The liposomes are shown to be significantly fusogenic that deliver the cargoes upon lowerin the pH (6.0). The fusogenic behaviour of the liposomes was thoroughly studied by means of dynamic light scattering (DLS), zeta potential, lipid mixing, calcein dequenching and atomic force microscopy (AFM). The facile integration of cholesterol conjugated RNA aptamer in liposomes derived from cholesteryl gemini lipids was exploited for their delivery to specific cancer cells. The RNA aptamer specifically binds to epithelial cell adhesion molecule (EpCAM) with high affinity which is a cell surface marker in various solid cancers such as colorectal and breast carcinoma. These aptamer decorated pH sensitive liposomes could efficiently enter the EpCAM expressing COLO-205, Caco-2, MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 cell lines while no such noticeable liposome transport was observed in EpCAM negative HEK 293T cells as evidenced by flow cytometry and confocal microscopy. Additionally, the liposomes are shown to be actively transported inside the cells, i.e., receptor mediated endocytosis. These liposomes could complex the nucleic acids (pDNA) in an efficient manner. The MTT based cell viability assay accounted no noticeable loss in cell viabilities for liposome treatments. Concisely, we have formulated RNA aptamer loaded pH sensitive liposomes that would certainly be promising tool in target based cancer nanomedicine. Figure 5. (A) Cellular internalization of DY-647 labeled aptamer loaded pH sensitive liposomes. (B) The liposomes were actively internalized through receptor mediated endocytosis. Each panel (A and B) represents (from left to right) bright field image, aptamer fluorescence, DAPI stained nuclei and merge of previous three impressions. Chapter 5: Natural Tri-peptide Capped Gold Nanoparticles for Efficacious Doxorubicin Delivery in Vitro and in Vivo Nanotechnology has gained ever increasing interest for the successful implementation of chemotherapy based treatment of cancer. This chapter describes the role of gold nanoparticles (AuNPs) capped with a natural pH responsive short tri-peptide (Lys-Phe–Gly or KFG) for significant intracellular delivery of an anti-cancer drug, doxorubicin (DOX). A significantly increased apoptotic response was noted for DOX treatments mediated by KFG-AuNPs in comparison with drug alone treatments in various cell lines (BT-474, HeLa, HEK 293T and U251) in vitro. Furthermore, KFG-AuNPs mediated DOX treatment significantly decreased cell proliferation and tumor growth in BT-474 cell xenograft model in nude mice. In addition, KFG-AuNPs showed efficacious drug delivery in DOX-resistant HeLa cells (HeLa-DOXR) in comparison with drug alone treatments. Figure 6. Representative images of excised tumors after doxorubicin treatment mediated by pH responsive tri-peptide capped gold nanoparticles (DOX-KFG-AuNPs) (C) in comparison with doxorubicin alone treatments (B) and untreated tumors (A). Extensive cell death as observed under Hematoxylin/eosin (H&E) (D) and TUNEL (E) staining of DOX-KFG-AuNPs treated tumor sections. Chapter 6: Significant Apoptotic Activity Induction by Efficacious Co-delivery of p53 Gene and Doxorubicin Mediated by the Combination of Co-liposomes of Cationic Gemini lipid and pH Responsive Tri-peptide Combining chemotherapy with gene therapy has appeared as an efficient tool to treat complex biological disorder like cancer. Herein, we show efficient co-delivery of DNA and an anti-cancer drug, doxorubicin (DOX) by means of gemini cationic liposome (GCL) based lipoplex nanoaggregates that are coated with DOX encapsulated pH responsive tripeptide nanovesicles. The lipoplex, tripeptide vesicles and their association was thoroughly studied using dynamic light scattering (DLS), zeta potential, atomic force microscopy (AFM). Flow cytometry, fluorescence and confocal microscopic analysis revealed that the GCL-tripeptide association could significantly co-deliver the p53 expression plasmid (p53-EGFP-C3) and DOX in HeLa and HEK 293T cells in the presence of serum. A synergistic increase in gene expression level and DOX internalization was observed in co-delivery which was even substantially higher than individual lipoplex transfection and DOX treatment. The apoptosis induced due to p53 expression and DOX was profiled with the help of annexin-V positivity analysis under flow cytometry and nuclear damage analysis by DAPI nuclei counterstaining under confocal microscopy which noted to be significantly higher in cells during co-delivery. The MTT based cell viability assay revealed a significantly increased loss in cell viability counts for co-delivery treatments. Such a system delivering synergistically increased significant efficacy levels in combinatorial drug and nucleic acid therapeutics would be certainly advantageous for practical biomedical applications. Figure 7. The co-delivery of pDNA and drug (doxorubicin) mediated by GCL-tripeptide association as observed under (A) confocal microscopy (pDNA; green and doxorubicin; red) and (B) flow cytometry.

Des nanoparticules d’or dispersées dans un carbone mésoporeux CMK-n (n = 1,3 et 8) ont été obtenues par une méthode originale qui consiste à répliquer des silices mésoporeuses dans lesquelles les particules d’or ont été préalablement formées. La taille des particules d’or est plus petite lorsque la surface de la silice est fonctionnalisée par un thiol (MPTMS) (dAu ~ 2 nm) que par un ammonium (TPTAC) (dAu ~ 6 nm). La taille des particules d’or dans les répliques peut être contrôlée à la fois par la température de calcination du moule et par la température de pyrolyse de la source de carbone. Bien que les répliques carbonées soient beaucoup mieux dispersées dans le milieu réactionnel apolaire que les moules siliciques correspondants, elles sont moins actives dans les oxydations aérobies du cyclohexène et du trans-stilbène en phase liquide. Les meilleures performances dans l'oxydation de ces deux molécules ont été obtenues sur les répliques pyrolysées à 750°C et contenant des particules d’or de taille moyenne d'environ 2 nm. Les très petites particules sont moins actives, probablement parce qu'elles sont complètement enrobées par du carbone, donc inaccessibles. Les performances catalytiques de nos répliques ont été comparées avec celles d'un catalyseur Au/CMK-3 préparé par dépôt colloïdal sur un carbone mésoporeux pré-formé. Les résultats montrent que nos catalyseurs sont beaucoup moins actifs que celui préparé par dépôt colloïdal, car la majorité des particules dans nos répliques sont recouvertes par du carbone. L'inaccessibilité des particules aux gaz a été confirmée par une mesure de chimisorption d’hydrogène sur un catalyseur Pt/CMK-3 préparé par une méthode identique. / Highly dispersed gold nanoparticles in ordered mesoporous carbons CMK-3 have been obtained by an original method which consists in replicating mesoporous SBA-15 silicas containing gold nanoparticles. The gold particle size is smaller when the silica surface is functionalized with a thiol (mercaptopropyl graft, MPTMS) (dAu ~ 2 nm) than with an ammonium (TPTAC) (dAu ~ 6 nm). The gold particle size in replicas can be controlled by both the calcination temperature of the silica template and the pyrolysis temperature of the carbon source. Although the carbon replicas are much better dispersed in non polar solvents than the corresponding silica templates, they are less active in the aerobic oxidations of cyclohexene and trans-stilbene in the liquid phase. The best performances in the oxidation of these two molecules have been obtained on replicas pyrolysed at 750°C and containing gold particles with an average size of about 2 nm. The very small particles are unexpectedly less active probably because they are completely coated by carbon, and thus inaccessible. The catalytic performances of our replicas have been compared with those of a Au/CMK-3 catalyst prepared by colloidal deposition onto a preformed mesoporous carbon replica. The results show that our catalysts are much less active than that prepared by colloidal deposition because the majority of particles in our replicas are covered by carbon. The inaccessibility of particles to gases has been confirmed by hydrogen chemisorption on a Pt/CMK-3 catalyst prepared by an identical method.

The extensive growth of nanotechnology has necessitated the development of economical and robust methods for large scale production of nanomaterials. It requires detailed quantitative understanding of lab-scale processes to enable effective scale-up and development of new contacting strategies for their controlled synthesis. In this thesis, attempts are made in both the directions using experimental and modelling approaches for synthesis of different nanoparticles. The two-phase Brust--Schiffrin protocol for the synthesis of gold nanoparticles was investigated first. The mechanism of transfer of reactants from aqueous to organic phase using phase transfer catalyst (PTC) was investigated using the measurement of interfacial tension, viscosity, SLS, SAXS, 1H NMR, DOSY-NMR, and Karl-Fischer titration. The study shows that the reactants are transferred to organic phase through the formation of hydrated complexes between reactants and PTC rather than through the solubilization of reactants in water core of inverse micelles of PTC, proposed recently in the literature. The particle synthesis reactions thus occur in the bulk organic phase. The extensive body of seemingly disparate experimental findings on Brust--Schiffrin protocol were put together next. The emerging picture ruled out both thermodynamic considerations and kinetics based arguments as exemplified by the classical LaMer's mechanism with sequential nucleation growth capping for size control in Brust--Schiffrin protocol. A new model for particle synthesis was developed. The model brought out continued nucleation--growth--capping based size control, an hitherto unknown mechanistic route for the synthesis of monodisperse particles, as the main mechanism. The model not only captured the reported features of the synthesis but also helped to improve the uniformity of the synthesized particles, validated experimentally. The two-step mechanism of Finke--Watzky---first order nucleation from precursor and autocatalytic growth of particles---proposed as an alternative to LaMer model to explain an induction period followed by a sigmoidal decrease in precursor concentration for the synthesis of iridium nanoparticles was investigated next. The mechanism is tested using an equivalent population balance model for its ability to explain the experimentally observed near constant breadth of the evolving size distribution as well. The predictions show that while it captures precursor conversion well, it fails to explain particle synthesis on account of its inability to suppress nucleation. A minimal four-step mechanism with additional steps for nucleation from reduced iridium atoms and their scavenging using particle surface is proposed. The new mechanism when combined with the first or second order nucleation, or classical nucleation with no scavenging of reduced atoms also fails to suppress nucleation. A burst like onset of nuclei formation with homogeneous nucleation and the scavenging of reduced atoms by particles are simultaneously required to explain all the reported features of the synthesis of iridium nanoparticles. A new reactor is proposed for continuous production of CaCO3 nanoparticles in gas-liquid reaction route. The key feature of the new reactor is the control of flow pattern to ensure efficient mixing of reactants. A liquidliquid reaction route for production of CaCO3 nanoparticles is also optimized to produce nanoparticles at high loading. Optimum supersaturation combined with efficient breakup of initial gel-like structure by mechanical agitation and charge control played a crucial role in producing nano sized CaCO3 particles.